Page 76 of Hidden Depths

He paused.

"She cares."

14

STORM

The sea had gone quiet.

Too quiet.

It wasn't the absence of waves.

There were always waves.

It was everything else.

The gulls that had followed us since San Francisco were gone.

The dolphins had disappeared before sunrise.

Even the wind felt different.

I rested my hands lightly on the wheel.

"Talk to me," I whispered.

Grandpa used to do that.

He'd stand on the bridge like he was having a conversation with the Pacific.

As a little girl I'd asked him who he was talking to.

He'd smile and say…

"The sea doesn't answer with words, Storm.

She answers with changes."

I understood now.

A soft knock sounded behind me.

Ben.

"You noticed."

It wasn't a question.

I nodded.

"The birds."

"The dolphins."

"The silence."

He looked toward the horizon.